The first owner started farming in 1892 and covered 240 acres. He farmed crops, raised cattle, and had horses, and pigs. Some descriptions of the farm in the 1900s are of a highly successful farmer and rancher. He started building the existing structures in 1900. The house was noted to have been built with heated air, electricity, and plumbing. The outbuildings were said to have sufficient size and durability for the area’s operations. This house is one of the area’s enduring examples of a settlement farmhouse from the turn of the century. I plan to preserve this heritage through my renovations.
History and general overview of the farmhouse.
On my first inspection of this 1900 farmhouse, I found this house has not seen proper preservation in 50 years. This means instead of replacing the worn areas, patches or facia were used to cover the damaged areas. In more than a few cases the modernization of the house has caused some structural damage. When restoring an antique house, you can put any item in the house you want. You do have to remember what your actions are doing to the structure.
When installing a bathroom for example you examine the joists and studs and if they are unstable, you replace them with new ones. When you plumb the tub or shower route the electrics and pipes to the inside wall preferably farthest away from the outside walls. It is best to never drill holes through the joists and studs as it weakens the structure. With today’s technology and materials, it is easy to route wires and pipes where they need to go without drilling.
Basement
The basement is most important to ensure structural integrity. The foundation is from quarried rock and is about two feet thick. I hope that the mortar has held together and that the water hasn’t penetrated the wall leaving that puddle inside the basement. So, since the walls are no longer trustworthy, not unstable but leaky. The stones have not shifted or crumbled.
I plan to dig down the outside of the foundation and then I will know what is needed. If the wall is ok, then I can build a concrete expansion to the basement wide enough for a 12-foot porch with a concrete floor above. Once that cures, I want to build a red brick or sandstone veneer which replaces the siding. When that is done the two-story enclosable porches go up. The old roof is bowing and in bad shape. One reason being it was built with 2x4s. The new roof will be using 2x6s and 2x8s and metal sheeting.
Roof preparation
That way the new roof should last a hundred years with proper maintenance before serious issues. Then the new roof covers the new porches and expansion to the garage area. This expansion requires that the gas, electric, water, and sewer pipes be rerouted. The electricity and water from the well-house can be routed through a connecting tunnel to the new basement area. Making it easier to maintain.
I can redo the septic pipes as they exit the existing house. They are desperately needed since they are old PVC and iron pipe mixed. It is probably time for a new gas line to run to the house as well. The new gas lines can be routed from the old 1000-gallon propane tank to the well-house and through the tunnel. This is great because I want to put in a new 500-gallon propane tank to run the kitchen stoves. Once the outside is rerouted, restored, and built I then can move indoors and restore the interior.
Sill plates on the foundation
Face boards along the foundation sills usually are rotted and ready to fall off. When I looked at them, they were decent. They had some water damage but not from submersion thankfully. The face boards are there to keep water and elements away from the sill plates. When I reface the foundation, I’ll know the full insult to the sill boards. But by looking at the insides and outside of the plates. I did not see too much rot. Some water damage but not so they were letting the house settle. The face boards took most of the damage so I will replace them when I reface the foundation and siding.
Kitchen
The kitchen has seen a lot of use. But once the insulation and veneer are finished it will be the first room to see restoration. Inspection shows that the cupboards, while in very nice condition, are open to the outside. This allows bugs and cold to freeze, heat, or be covered in cobwebs. Since I can’t use the cupboards, I have set up metal shelving units to hold the food, seasonings, and kitchen equipment. The cupboards look like they were built in the 1940s. I like the design and durability of them. But taking them down will be an issue due to the fact they were built in sections and then mounted.
Cabinet work
The upper cabinets should be okay to sand down and restore. Using jacks to bring them down will be fun and I hope to bring them down without a scratch. The lower cupboards have damaged drawers and the upper side that supports the counter is in question. I will be carefully disassembling them in hopes of restoration.
Some of the drawers are specialties. A couple is metal lined from storing flour and grains. In bags or containers of course. Remember never just dump the flour directly into the bin, just leave it in the bag it came in. The metal is there for protection and after many years of use, it probably is not food-grade anymore. The counters are made of laminate and are separated from their bases. So, no hope of restoration of them. Shame too I liked the sloping backsplash.
Kitchen floors
The kitchen floors are a mess. You can feel the imprints that are formed in front of the sink and stove. These are common places where failure in the floorboards occurs. Looking at the joists from the basement shows some of them require replacement. So, most likely the underfloor needs to be changed as well. The roof is worrying me. It looks ok from below without cutting an inspection hole. The floor of the room above the kitchen is warped. What and where it is warped will have to wait till I start the kitchen.
The kitchen electrics need to be changed. Most of the outlets are burnt and are the old style without ground posts. The wiring looks to be from before the 1970s. The plumbing is copper, PVC, and iron. All plumbing will be updated with new waste pipes and PEX water and gas lines. The water filtration and softening system is far out of date and will be replaced along with the main water line from the well.
Second chimney
Barely seen in the 1914 picture (Co, 1914) in the back ridge you can barely see what looks like a second chimney. If that chimney existed, then it would have had its base where the walkway is now. All I need to do is crawl under and see if there is anything left from the chimney base. Why I think there is a second chimney is that back then most places had a chimney just for the kitchen stoves. Some places did have gas but not all. I want to build another chimney for the kitchen. But I see when the time comes.
Chimney
The main chimney situated in the center of the house is strong. It does not show much damage. The liner is ok, and the fireplace burns nicely. Although the fireplace needs repair. The flue system is broken so I need to weld or get new plates for it. The brick surrounding the fireplace looks ok. I will know better when the plaster and wood trim comes off for inspections and repairs.
The base of the chimney shows some damage but by replacing a few bricks it will be fine. The top of the chimney is the one I am worried about. I can see damage as it goes out the roof. It does not leak around the roof so that’s great. The top that is outside of the roof is damaged slightly by the winds and weather. The plan is to inspect when the new roof goes on and extend the chimney a little with a chimney cap.
First floor
The first floor is the most used should be the least I have to do when I remodel. I hope. The dining room is ok the floor creaks a little. The walls and ceiling have cracks but there are no bulges. The storage room off the dining room under the stairs has the most damage. Most of it is the underside of the stairs. Some stairs are broken, and temp repaired. Most of the first-floor issues are the doors and windows. With the exception of the kitchen, the floors appear good. The stairs and railing are in good condition from the top side. It will need new boards and a new finish.
The built-in bookcase needs to be refinished but is in good condition. The fireplace and its trim need work but are in good condition. No sign of fire damage. The pocket doors are a little off-square, so I will have to take those down to see what is wrong. The pocket door that is by the living room outdoor entry is leaking water or condensation or is open to the outside. Or condensation from the air ducts. This is why it is important to use ac and dehumidifiers in these old houses.
The first-floor bathroom off the dining room is okay but when the copper pipes froze it severely damaged the bathroom and the bathroom above it. The first-floor bath had a drop ceiling that caused the pipes to freeze. Funny, because if the ceiling of the bath wasn’t open to the outside. the drop ceiling would have prevented freezing. Electrical and plumbing need to be replaced on all levels of the house. These mix-and-match wires and pipes have to go. All walls and ceilings need to be replaced with drywall.
Second floor
The second-floor rooms and hallway floors need to be replaced as they wave at me. Not to mention the water or humidity damage. The ceilings need de-plastered and replaced with drywall. All windows, doors, closets, and everything else need to be replaced.
Siding
The main thing for me to remember when inspecting is to not damage the place. Mainly so it is preserved until it can be remodeled. So, when I examined the siding to see how much damage there was, I could not just rip a few boards off to see what I was working with. So, I grabbed my automotive video scope, an inspection mirror, and my standard needle nose pliers and started inspecting. It is not good.
Lack of insulation
There is no insulation is the first thing I saw. But I had to confirm this theory. So, I went to twelve different sides of the house and peeked under the damaged siding. Yep, I was right. There is no insulation in this one hundred- and twenty-year-old house. Upon further inspection I found the paper installed back in what I think is the remodel of the 1940s was disintegrated. So, the siding is gone, and I say this because once this amount of neglect occurs there is little that can be done except to install new siding. I hope there is not that much damage to the dimensional lumber in the walls and windows. I am not that lucky. Peeking through the holes left by animals and weather I estimated the following.
The siding was beyond repair. As stated, the paper disintegrated, instead of providing a barrier between the studs and the elements. It had turned into a type of sponge. The moisture in this air had been absorbed by the fibers left from the paper. Not good at all.
Thankfully, there is no insulation to hold that moisture in the wall. From what I see the water was absorbed into the fiber and then was released, draining down the inside of the siding. From what I can see the water did some damage to the studs but not enough to rot them. I hope. So far, the paint left on the siding had helped prevent rain from directly flowing into the wall. But some cracks in the paint had allowed the moisture to penetrate and be absorbed into the fiber. The siding itself is a fiberboard that is either from the original build of 1900 or from the later remodel of 1942.
Windows
Now the windows. I had been dreading looking at them. There were holes near the windows. Likely from bugs, birds, and what I think was that someone had put plastic over the windows and secured it with boards nailed into the siding. Great, more damage to the siding. But the holes did give me the ability to peek at the studs and sills around the windows. Most of the wood on the siding, sills, and tops of the window frames was water damaged and rotted from what I could see. Some windows were saved by the wind. Blowing through the crack and air drying them before rot fully set in. I will not know the full insult to the studs and sills till I have the veneer going up.
Gutters
The gutters are a mess. In better condition for their age. One set is the original from 1900. There are gutters dating from 1940 and 1970 as well. Which means different hanging and material. The original is steel with hangers that attach to the rafters. The 1970s are lightweight aluminum that attaches to the face boards. They all need replacing. When the gutters become clogged or do not get cleaned very often, they have a chance to overflow. This overflow has a tendency on the older gutters for the water to travel up the hangers and set in the face or rafters. Which leads to rot on the face boards and rafter ends.
The originals are rusted through by decades of not being cleaned and being used as birds’ nests. They lasted a long time due to their heavy construction. The aluminum is rotted away probably because they were installed new in the 1970s. Unfortunately, in the 1970’s a lot of mistakes were made in manufacturing processes and building techniques. They were experimenting with what they called innovative technologies and materials. These experiments did lead to some great building techniques. But not for a few decades. Most of which never held up to years of weather.
Attic
The roof held up quite well for the region. There is water damage on rafters and slats, due to neglected maintenance. It is mostly straight; one side has started to bow inward. So, I have placed bracing to hold it till I can get to it. The nails do not protrude, are not crooked, and are not sunk due to rot or softened wood. It is not the original roof though. Looks like a reroof was done in the 1940s remodel. I am so glad it was not reroofed in the 1970s. Would not have a roof if it were. The porch roofs on the other hand are goners. They wave at me and leak even when there is no rain. So, I seal them with a thick layer of plastic topped with tar and hope it lasts until I can get the porches built.
A good roof means a good basement, but not always the other way around.
Attics are the most important part of the house. The second is the basement. If the roof and attic are secure and well-built. The rest of the building below will be in better condition. Unless the basement floods. But that is another inspection. In my attic, I saw the roof had been replaced in what I estimate to be the 1940s. It was not the original roof. The hardware and boards used were different and some of the roof was changed structurally. This was later confirmed by finding a picture of the house in 1914. This is also why it is good to be somewhat of a historian. This place will need a new roof when I get the porches on. The attic layout will change as well as I plan on putting the tower to the same height as it was when built.
The tower issues
Towers are always an issue. Besides the many angles getting in the way. The height and roof of the tower have been altered. I will change the roofline and height to be closer to their original shapes. This will help increase the attic’s size and usability and hopefully strengthen the new roof allowing it to last years longer than the last roof. Face boards along the roof line need to be checked for rot and loose boards. While you’re inspecting, watch out for birds and rodent holes and nests. Of course, the bees love those cracks and holes as well. Most older face boards are attached with nails that work loose over time, especially in high-wind areas.
Other observations include. When the house is finished, it will have over five thousand square feet of living area. The well output is good but needs to be softened and filtered to drink. The electric service to the farm is great but the house has the old 50-amp fuse box service. The old phone lines make a great fast connection to the internet.
By, John Noll
References
Co, G. A. (1914, March 8). Blue Earth County 1914. Retrieved from Historic Map Works: https://historicmapworks.com